A pineapple is never just a pineapple

By Andrea Zanin 23-05-23 20:53

When I was growing up my family took plenty of road trips, from Grahamstown to East London or King William’s Town (where my sister and I were at boarding school) or Port Alfred, Kent-on-Sea and Port Elizabeth. On those roads during pineapple season, would be African mamas, men, teenage girls, young boys, sometimes whole families […]

The license, the queue & the photocopy machine

By Andrea Zanin 11-04-23 22:59

If you’re over 60, on a Wednesday you have privilege of appointment to renew your driver’s license at the licensing department in Edenvale. My license was due to expire so I decided I would take up the offer… writes Clare Paterson. I devised the perfect plan… …the department opens at 9am and I had a […]

A toilet in the gamadoelas... Stories from South Africa

A toilet in the gramadoelas

By Andrea Zanin 30-01-24 21:29

My dad came to South Africa in his early twenties. As a British guy, he didn’t speak ‘die taal’ but as an electrical engineer employed on the power lines he worked with a lot of Afrikaans people—making life ripe for misunderstandings. Often, my dad worked out in the gramadoelas. At the end of one of […]

Parktown Prawn

Boesak, parsley and a parktown prawn

By Andrea Zanin 14-03-23 16:47

There’s nothing like a Parktown Prawn in the car on the way to school. “We’re going!”—mom bellows from the other side of the house. I lightning myself out of bed. Throw on my uniform (luckily, it’s summer—no tie), lurch for my school bag (praying I packed accurately the night before), will an apple into my […]

launch 7

Karoo eBooks Launch

By Chris Marais 27-02-15 19:49

The next best thing to actually being in the Karoo, South Africa’s semi-desert Heartland, is to have access to the just-launched Karoo Space eBookstore. Download the Karoo Collection Sampler on your tablet or smartphone, find a shady spot somewhere and settle in for a tour of the most phenomenal people-friendly desert in the world. Travel […]

Karoo Keepsakes Goes to Franschhoek

By Chris Marais 27-02-15 22:31

The Franschhoek Literary Festival is one of the Groot Menere of all South African litfests. As authors of the Karoo Keepsakes series, my wife Jules and I normally hang out at smaller gatherings, like the Richmond Boekbedonnerd affair, the Schreiner Karoo Writers Festival at home here in Cradock and WordFest in Grahamstown. In fact, we’ll […]

Charlene Wittstock

Welcome to sapeople

By SAPeople 08-09-15 14:51

We’re in the process of upgrading sapeople.com to bring you a bigger, better site that’s easier to navigate and find the stuff you’re after…so please forgive us the ‘bugs’ you may find at the moment. And if there’s any service you wish the site had – let us know! Write to admin@sapeople.com If you’re new […]

August ’10

By SAPeople 06-10-19 11:07

Highlights this week include:
– Exclusive interview with couple whose boat was hit by a breaching whale.
Lisa Roberts won the European Championships Title
The world’s largest SA restaurant – Shaka Zulu – is set to become an iconic venue in London
Archbishop Desmond Tutu announced his retirement.
Louis Oosthuizen won the British Open Golf Tournament
– Prince Albert of Monaco sets wedding date with SA swimmer Charlene Wittstock.
South African surfer Jordy Smith is leading the World Surfing tour.

You can also read the latest from our featured bloggers in New York, Cape Town, Durban, Tanzania, Johannesburg, Italy, London and LA.

Mid June 2010

By SAPeople 06-10-19 11:07

Highlights this week include:
Exclusive interview with Johnny Clegg
Umbrella Vuvuzella Song video
Open Letter to the World
A Mother’s Message of Mourning
– All the videos from The Kickoff Concert in case you missed it
– View pics of Bafana Bafana Parade and World Cup Concert
Ronaldo meets Nelson Mandela
World Cup for Dummies (everything you HAVE to know!)
– Read an excerpt of Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Still popular:
Watch Leon Schuster’s trailer for ‘Survival Guide to SA’
Elon Musk launched a rocket. See the pics.
Classic Castle ad, bru! and Breast is Best at Nandos
South African ‘walks’ on water!

You can also read the latest from our featured bloggers in New York, Cape Town, Durban, Tanzania, Johannesburg, Italy, London and LA.

June 2010

By SAPeople 06-10-19 11:07

Highlights this week include:
– View pics of Bafana Bafana Parade and World Cup Concert
Ronaldo meets Nelson Mandela
World Cup for Dummies (everything you HAVE to know!)
– Read an excerpt of Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Elon Musk launched a rocket. See the pics.
Watch Leon Schuster’s brilliant trailer for ‘Survival Guide to SA’
District 9’s Vanessa Haywood & Charlize Theron need YOU.
Zuma in another alleged affair scandal – his wife’s.

Still popular:
Classic Castle ad, bru! and Breast is Best at Nandos
SA woman conquers 7 Summits, SA man swims at Everest
– Number of Saffas in London not that Bafunny
SA film gets standing ovation in Cannes; another wins Tribeca
South African ‘walks’ on water!

You can also read the latest from our featured bloggers in New York, Cape Town, Durban, Tanzania, Johannesburg, Italy, London and LA.

End May 2010

By SAPeople 06-10-19 11:08

Highlights this week include:
Breast is Best at Nandos
SA Woman conquers Seven Summits
Classic Castle ad, bru!
Ernie Els feeling rough after criticsm
– Furore in SA over Prophet cartoon
– Number of Saffas in London not that Bafunny
SA film gets standing ovation in Cannes

Still popular:
Die Antwoord videos rocking in the USA
– interview with wildlife photographer Hannes Lochner
South African ‘walks’ (um, runs) on water!
Nandos ads make fun of foreigners

You can also read the latest from our featured bloggers in New York, Cape Town, Durban, Tanzania, Johannesburg, Italy, London and LA.

End March message

By SAPeople 06-10-19 11:38

If you’re a Celebrity Survivor addict, don’t miss our interview with Ashley Hayden. (Expats will remember Ashley from her M-Net presenting days.)

This week we also have:

SHOUT for a Safer South Africa
funny video of an apparent SA politician
Elton and Annie supporting South Africans with Aids
new SA movie tackling race with humour
SA Supermodel sizzling on Esquire (see the vid and pics too)

You can also read the latest from our featured bloggers in Cape Town, Durban, Tanzania, Johannesburg, Italy and LA.

Mid-March Message

By SAPeople 16-01-10 19:45

So our great South African hopes – Invictus and District 9 – weren’t the big winners at the Oscars…but Charlize Theron still shone on the red carpet.

This week we’ve also got:

– fab photos of the Karoo for any nostalgic expats
– new HEALTH series, starting with making the most of your 20’s
David Beckham‘s World Cup dreams dashed
– tips on becoming a coffee connoisseur from Manuela in Italy
– heartbreaking account of life in Tanzania from Janelle

March 2010 Message from SAPeople

By SAPeople 06-10-19 11:13

This Week’s Highlights
Jacob Zuma’s state visit to London has sparked controversy and brilliant photos of Zuma and the Queen. Our featured SA blogger in LA, Caren Best, is caught up in the Oscar buzz (holding thumbs for Invictus), Femina‘s closing its doors, we’ve taken a trip down memory lane with videos of some favourite old SA adverts and SA surfer Chris Bertish talks about his epic win at the recent Mavericks Big Wave Surf Contest where he discovered “in life there are times when you only get one chance to realise your dream”.

You can also read the latest from our bloggers in Cape Town, Durban, London, Tanzania, Australia, Johannesburg, Italy and New York.

Message from sapeople

By SAPeople 06-10-19 11:12

This Week’s Highlights
Everyone’s talking about Invictus, so for your easy reference we’ve put together a selection of the best trailers and video interviews with the stars. Plus you can read related posts from Ted in New York and Sue in Cape Town (including Sue’s own inspiring meeting with Madiba). And check out all the accolades the film’s accumulating in the Fab section.

Don’t miss Anton Cartwright’s thought-provoking piece on the 2010 carbon footprint issue. And read the latest from our featured bloggers in Durban, London, Tanzania, Australia, Johannesburg, Italy and LA.